Florida politicians and UF administrators gathered Saturday for the dedication of Pugh Hall - UF's new center for languages, public service and oral history - and celebrated a surprise donation from the building's namesake.
Jim Pugh, who with his wife sponsored the 40,000-square-foot building's construction, surprised the crowd with an extra $1 million contribution to name Pugh Hall's teaching auditorium for former Florida Gov. Buddy MacKay and his wife, Anne.
Pugh's surprise was met with applause from the crowd and an emotional reaction from MacKay.
"I've never been so overwhelmed," MacKay said after the ceremony.
Pugh, a 1963 UF graduate, said he has known MacKay since the 1980s, and he was the chairman of MacKay's 1998 campaign for governor.
"It just seemed like he needed something on campus to know his great public service to this state," Pugh said.
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a 1959 UF alumnus, said he and Pugh have known each other since their days in Sigma Nu Fraternity more than 50 years ago. Graham said he and MacKay have known each other since 1969, when they engaged in debates as state legislators.
"I'm so honored to have our names linked in this building," Graham said to MacKay.
Pugh Hall, which UF President Bernie Machen said could accommodate about 600 people, was modeled after Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
"In my 40 years of higher-ed, this is the most fun project I've ever been associated with," Machen said in his opening remarks.
About 200 people met in the building's large Ocora Room to dedicate the building.
During school days, the room is filled with tables and chairs to accommodate working, sleeping and socializing students, said Joe Glover, interim dean of UF's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As seen on Saturday, it functions as a lecture space, too.
Also on the building's ground floor are the auditorium named for the MacKays and a snack and coffee store that opened Wednesday.
The Bob Graham Center for Public Service trains students for future government positions and offers a certificate in public leadership. It shares the second floor with the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, which provides transcribed interviews of people who have seen historical events in Florida firsthand. A dedication for Graham's center will be next month, Machen said.
Machen said Pugh Hall is unique compared to other UF buildings, and he has heard positive feedback from students using the facility.
"It's one of a kind," Machen said. "You can't put this in a regular classroom."
